Zoo, 2021

Iiu Susiraja

Museum host Carolina Hindsjö talks about how art sparks meaningful encounters with visitors from all over the world in the museum’s exhibitions.

Carolina Hindsjö: My name is Carolina Hindsjö, and I’m a host at the museum. I sit at the front desk, where I charge entrance fees and share information about the exhibitions. I also walk around the galleries and remove backpacks from backs—because those need to be worn on the chest or carried in hand. And I tell visitors about the art.
 
As a host, I meet people from all over the world. More than half of the museum’s visitors are international tourists. In my department, we speak many languages, and several of us are artists ourselves.
 
I like to listen for the languages and accents the visitors speak. If I hear a Finnish accent, I often ask if they’re from Finland. About 5% of our visitors are. The reason I ask this is because my mother is from Finland, and I’m curious where they’re from. Is it Vaasa, Helsinki, Tampere, or elsewhere? We might talk about where my family comes from. I usually say Vaasa or Karelia.
 
It’s like a small connection opens up when we start talking about Finland. People might share a story, about an artwork or something that’s happened back home. I also recognize the particular Finnish sense of humor, that crude Finnish humor, that dark Finnish humor—which I really love. It reminds me of Susiraja’s work.  Her dark humor.
 
Susiraja breaks with social norms when she displays her overweight body, but she still does it, and always with that dark humor. And then she adds different props. Sometimes, her photos make me really happy. They’re so dark, but still so funny.